


how to trace the constellations in your eyes

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Pining, Post S3, el should get paid for being mike's therapist, mentioned max mayfield - Freeform, mike apologizing, past mileven (kinda), will is the best human alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:21:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24498598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: mike comes over to will's house to apologize for real and finds drawings in his room, which leads to some shocking revelations about things he's always known, just hasn't admitted to himself.
Relationships: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 5
Kudos: 85





	how to trace the constellations in your eyes

**Author's Note:**

> update: look, i said this was i want to forget everything but you BUT then i wrote some more byler fluff and decided that this is a standalone fic that has nothing to do with the series!! anyway... thanks for bearing with me, friends. love you <3

Mike was supposed to come to the Byers house, apologize for being such an asshole (he wrote a whole twenty minute long speech, with Dustin and El’s help) and go buy Will ice cream. It wasn’t supposed to be having an existential crisis while standing in the middle of his best friend’s room and gripping one of his drawings. 

Well, here he is and guess what’s happening? 

That’s right. Mike Wheeler is the freaking testament to Murphy’s Law and he hates it. 

Turns out the government has a shady lab where they experimented on kids and accidentally opened a gate to another dimension? In Mike’s town and his best friend goes missing. 

Said other dimension has an evil tentacle creature that possesses people? Best friend gets possessed and it breaks Mike’s heart to watch Will forget everything, especially since he could never, ever forget. After all, every moment he has with Will is the best one. 

Evil tentacle creature comes back with a freaking army? Tries to kill Mike’s… well, Eleven. 

Mike knows it’s unfair for him of all people to be complaining. Will’s been through hell and back twice and hasn’t said anything, besides the occasional showing up on Mike’s doorstep at 3am with no idea how he got there. And El keeps asking if he’s ok, as if he was the one who got tortured in a lab for the majority of his life, lost his superpowers and father figure and then got almost eaten by the mind flayer. 

But, it’s just… it’s just hard to watch Will fall apart after nightmares, when he thinks no one’s looking, and to realize there’s nothing Mike can do about it. 

So, over the past year, Mike’s been pulling away a little bit, because every time he looks his best friend in those beautiful eyes, he’s reminded of how he failed to keep him safe and there’s something else there too. Something deeper and intense and earth-shattering that keeps him up at night, wondering if Will’s smile has always been a piece of fallen sun. 

He doesn’t know what it is, not quite, but the words are just out of reach and it terrifies him. 

That day, when Will was trying to play D&D and his eyes were sparkling and he was so excited for the first time since the upside down, it was like the old version of Will was back and things Mike didn’t remember feeling hit him right in the face. 

He didn’t handle it that well and he’s felt sick about it ever since. 

Mike knows it was wrong to say those things, but he was so scared and he just snapped and… he’s terrified of everything he sees in those eyes and that smile. 

But, after talking to El and Dustin, writing down every damn thing he’s ever felt about Will Byers (even the things he hadn’t realized until he let himself grasp at them) and creating the apology speech, he’s still scared out of his mind, but he’s also ready to face whatever this is. 

So, he biked over the Byers house muttering the sentence fragments he always forgets and praying that Will would forgive him, even though he knows he screwed up big time. 

When he knocked, Ms. Byers opened the door and invited him in, saying that Will’s out with El and Jonathan, but he should be back in a few minutes and you can come in and wait for them. He started wandering the house and ended up in Will’s bedroom. 

Mike’s always been nosy- ask Nancy and she’ll tell you in great detail. 

But, he saw some drawings hastily shoved under Will’s bed, with a corner peeking out and he couldn’t help himself. He just picked one up and started flipping through them. 

A sudden wave of guilt hits Mike because he hasn’t seen his best friend’s art in such a long time. He still gets out the binder from two years ago and goes through it, like it’s his favorite story, but he didn’t realize how talented Will is now. Sure, he was always really good, but this is… this is like some next level shit. 

He smiles at a picture of Max skateboarding with her red hair flowing everywhere, laughs out loud when he gets to a sketch of Lucas chugging a coke, marvels at the drawing of El giggling at something not shown, grins when he gets to a picture of Dustin and his huge radio monstrosity, but then… the last picture is… well, it’s him, but it’s… does he even really look like that? Mike squints at it for what feels like hours, letting the other papers fall to the ground. 

Did Will really stare at his face for that long to get this much detail, or does he just have it memorized by now? There’s eraser bits all over the page, like someone’s been trying really hard to get it just right, but Mike knows that it’s already perfect. No need for a redo or anything. 

He feels himself starting to blush the longer he stares at it and wonders what it means. 

It’s different from the rest of the drawings. He doesn’t know why, but it just is and he can’t tear his eyes away from it, even when there’s footsteps staring down the hall, Will and El’s laughter and someone opening the door. 

“Oh, hey, Mike…” Will starts and then goes silent when he sees what’s in Mike’s hand. 

“This is really good!” he blurts out and clutches the paper tighter to his chest. 

Will reaches out to grab it away from him and for some reason, he looks really, really embarrassed, like Mike’s just read his diary or something.  
Shit. This apology isn’t off to a great start. 

“I just wanted to say…” and all the words he’s practiced in front of the mirror are completely gone. Was he supposed to start with “I don’t want to lose you because you’re my best friend and you mean more to me than the entire world” or “I think I’m in love…” 

Nope, second part was definitely not in the speech. 

Will’s still blinking at him with those stupidly gorgeous eyes, so he continues, “I’m really sorry, you know about the fight. The stuff I said… was completely uncalled for and it doesn’t matter if you don't like girls yet or at all. You’re still… you’re still Will and nothing’s going to change the way I feel about you.” 

He doesn’t know why he didn’t say best friend. Maybe it’s because it doesn’t fit anymore, like seeing this picture has opened up everything he tried so hard to bury and now it’s all pouring out. 

“It’s ok,” the other boy responds and Mike sighs. He’d expected at least some protest or something- he and Dustin came up with about twenty different ways to counteract that, including a choreographed dance, even though Mike looks like a chicken when dancing, but he should’ve known. Will’s too good for him, always has been. 

“Thank you.” 

Will’s still not making eye contact and he has the picture in a death grip. 

“You’re really talented!” Mike says again and then inwardly cusses himself out for the voice crack. 

“Thanks,” Will mutters, but he doesn’t look up. 

“That one’s my favorite. Can… can I have it?” 

This gets his attention and he squeaks, “What?!” 

“I can put it in the binder with all the other ones, you know…” Mike trails off and gestures vaguely, suddenly realizing he may not have told Will about all the drawings he kept. 

“You still have those?” Will’s blushing now and so’s he. 

“Of course I do. You made them,” is all he can reply. Then, his best friend (or something)’s crossing the room towards him, gripping him by the shirt and kissing him like he’s proving something to the world. Mike’s just so shocked that he keeps his eyes open and doesn’t get the chance to kiss back until he fully registers what’s happening. 

“Sorry,” Will mumbles and then backs away, “Sorry, sorry, sorry. I don’t know… can we just pretend that didn’t happen? Sorry.” 

Instead of saying anything, Mike just grabs his hand and drags him in, finally managing to kiss back properly. 

“Ummm… that was…” Will whispers after they pull apart. 

“Yeah,” Mike replies, because what else is there to say? That was and it was the best thing that ever happened to him. 

But, of course, Mike Wheeler always has to screw things up, so he blurts out, “I love you!” 

Then, Will turns on his heel and bolts toward the living room. 

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Mike curses under his breath and then runs after him. Now, he needs another last minute speech and he really doesn’t have that kind of time. 

When he rounds the corner to the kitchen, he sees Will standing on the counter and reaching up over the cabinets to get something. When he finally grabs onto a box shoved up there, he lets out a triumphant cry, pulls it down and jumps off. 

Mike stands in the doorway, frozen, as Will dumps out the entire box full of pictures that come floating to the ground. 

He starts rifling through them and holding them up, calling each, “exhibit a, exhibit b” and so on, until he gets to about exhibit 27a and stops, looking up at Mike expectantly. He doesn’t know what to say, just gapes at the seven hundred or so pictures of him that have spilled out onto the floor and are now surrounding Will. 

“Mike Wheeler, you are such a dumbass sometimes,” Will laughs and the only thing that Mike can think is that it’s the first time he’s heard his friend curse. 

“Well, yes, but, why?” 

Will just gestures to the hundreds of papers again and then says, “I’ve been drawing you since the day I met you. That’s gotta mean something, right?” 

Of course it does. It means everything. Mike just doesn’t get how that’s a response to… 

“I’m not the best with words, so this is the only way I have to… to say it.” 

Ohhhh. 

So, Mike walks over, kneels down on the ground next to him, looks through each of the pictures and says it over and over again, until they’re both crying for some reason and his voice hurts. Then, he leans in and kisses Will Byers again and he feels like he’s finally home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, lovelies! You guys are the best- hope you enjoyed! Please leave kudos and comments, for they are my life. Love you, beautiful people <3 As always, feel free to visit me on tumblr at @eraseyourbookofstories!!!


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